Thunderroad

Wait, are you saying that that there is more to the USA than NYC/JFK???

Seriously, thanks for this feedback. Based on previous inquiries I've made, it seems like the problem just started recently. But you might well be right, that it could be confined to JFK. I'll amend my previous post title accordingly.

As for your PS: I'm a bit confused. Yes, I was searching AUH-JFK-AUH at the EY site. I believe that has been the correct way to find even just JFK-AUH, based on some info either here in this forum or over at the EY forum. That is, I thought that specifically searching just JFK-AUH there turned up false negatives, whereas AUH-JFK-AUH reflected availability accurately. Did I get that wrong also, or misunderstand your question?

SeeBuyFly

EY booking is unpredictable, but typically, if xxx-AUH is available in J with a one-way search, it can be booked by calling AA in the US. For example, ORD-AUH (J) was visible to me with a one-way search, and I booked it through AA-US.

If J availability is only visible with a RT search, it gets more complex. These were once bookable by calling AA-US, then for a while they could be booked through AA-Australia, then for a while it required calling AA-NZ. EY seems to have read FT and stopped all that. We do not know if it is permanent or temporary.

The one-way availability search is quite variable depending on gateway:

ORD and DFW: scattered J availability next few weeks, generous J availability ~330 days out
IAD: scattered J availability next few weeks, zero J availability ~330 days out
JFK and LAX: zero J availability between tomorrow and 330 days out

(In all these cases an RT search shows J availability on many dates, but this does not help us)
(F availability may be different)


PS Maybe the awards visible with RT search are bookable by calling AA-Japan or AA-India or AA-Abu Dhabi, but AFAIK, no one has reported that they have tested this.
.

Thunderroad

Ok, thanks for the further info! If I have more to add on this, I'll post again.

jasmians

I see availability of etihad using guest miles from dfw-auh and returns on F. No AA agent can see it.m(including Australia)
I'm looking at Dec 2017 first week flight.

JonNYC

There are starting to be some reports of recent problems in this area:
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....an-miles-died/

A contact at AA seems to indicate that -something- *might* have changed, but this has happened at least a few times, only to revert to status quo-- more or less-- so, will have to see if this time is any different.

Thunderroad

Thanks very much, JonNYC...even if you're kinda sorta the bearer of bad news here.

If you get any update on what might have changed - and hopefully whether it might change back - I'm sure many of us would really appreciate it.

SeeBuyFly

I note again that there is lots of J availability out of ORD or DFW. As far as I can tell, there is NO difference between one-way and round-trip searches out of these gateways. So there is currently no reason to call Australia/NZ.

There is a huge difference between one-way and round-trip J searches out of JFK and LAX. And calling Australia/NZ does not currently help.

But if this were intentional, e.g. part of the EY-AA hostility, you would think the problem would occur across the board. It's just as likely to be another example of EY IT weirdness. Maybe it will clear up.

JonNYC

off-hand, and personally speaking, that aspect is -not- in my opinion in the mix here regardless of the cause (glitch vs. intentional, temporary vs. permanent.)

Thunderroad

I don't want to create work for you SBF, since you've contributed some good thoughts already. But have you actually called AA in the past few days (after you did your own booking from ORD) to verify the availability, or are you simply going off of the EY site? I'll call myself when I get a chance later tonight or tomorrow, but was curious as to whether you'd done so.

SeeBuyFly

Obviously I can't test every date and gateway, but I did call and test several ORD dates. I did not test DFW or LAX, I'm just reporting that DFW availability display is very similar to ORD, while LAX is just like JFK (you and others have tested JFK).

gpeso8

I was able to ticket AUH-LAX in F last week for mid-October with no issues, this was calling the main US Aadvantage reservation line.

edy4eva

Not possible to change a booking I had on EY. The AA agents in all call centres I called would see availability but comes back as unconfirmed (something along the line of a 'disconnect' issue). One agent was eager to test things (new booking, separate segments) to no avail.

Another agent who seemed quite knowledgeable (tried a number of things without me asking) said in this situation a call to the tech desk will not solve the issue and that the typical response is that EY will not permit/confirm availability.

So, eager for an explanation, I called EY Guest. To my surprise the EY agent (think IN based but could be UK for all that I know) could not see availability at all. He said what the EY website is NOT reflecting the actual availability and that continuing with the booking online will eventually fail after the payment page.

Given that EY is not accepting baggage on separate itineraries and that one needs 75% of the mileage to book (plus the loss of 10% in case of cancellation) and no changes in the last 24 hours means I would not risk it with EY guest.

oliver_dvs

Just called US / AU / NZ for AUH-LHR (First)in Dec.
Agents didn't see anything available albeit EF showing plenty on the website.

Austin Cox

I called US/AU/NZ/JP yesterday for one way AUH-JFK in May 2018 and nothing. EY had plenty of availability on website

Thunderroad

Same results as those above. Checked JFK/DFW/LAX-AUH and vice versa for F availability multiple dates in June/July 2018. Called both USA and NZ (Fiji) offices. No luck, despite availability showing on EY site.